Leadership & Management

leadership_management.png

Leadership and management skills focus on your ability to guide and lead people within an organisation, team or project and ensure targets and goals are achieved.

Leadership skills involve engaging people with inspiring visions, motivating others, and guiding teams toward shared goals. Management skills encompass the practical abilities needed to organise tasks, direct resources, and ensure your project or team is working efficiently. Being an effective leader takes a range of skills, both practical and people-oriented, from empathy to strategic thinking.

You can see a full list of the skills included in this category at the bottom of this page.

Very few people are 'born leaders' - good leadership skills are developed through practice by taking on increasing responsibilities and learning from others. They are valuable in any group context, from societies to the workplace, and are key to achieving collective success.

Think about times you might have taken on a leadership role in your study or activities, and reflect on which skills you developed using the list at the bottom of the page. Consider how your life experiences could influence your leadership skills - facing personal challenges may have improved your compassion and empathy skills. Use the Skills Discovery Tool to evaluate your skills in this area.

Easy ways to get started

You can gradually build your confidence before taking on formal leadership positions. You could:

Organise informal study groups - reach out to a few people on your course, start a group chat and coordinate schedules to meet up. Find ways to keep people focused, check in on how others are doing with the course, and manage any shared resources like lecture notes.
Practice giving positive feedback to peers - if you're part of a committee or group project, notice when others do something well and let them know what you appreciated about their contribution.
Take ownership of a small project - this could be coordinating a group meal with friends, organising a birthday celebration, or planning a day trip to London.

Skills development opportunities

Here some suggestions to help you build your leadership and management skills further:

Run for a role on your College JCR/MCR committee. You will practice your leadership skills in all positions, from Welfare or LGBTQ+ Officer to President, while meaningfully contributing to your College community.
Put yourself up for leadership roles in a sport you're involved in. Organising matches, coaching and coordinating teammates and inspiring others will significantly enhance your leadership skills. Find out more on the Physical Activity & Sport page.
Become an academic representative for your course, helping drive positive change for fellow students by representing their views on departmental committees.
Access LinkedIn Learning courses including Leadership Foundations and Courageous Leadership for structured learning about leadership approaches. Find out how to access LinkedIn Learning through your University account.
Volunteer as a mentor for a school student, supporting disadvantaged young people to access higher education and building your mentoring and motivating skills. Find out how to do this on the Community & Volunteering page.
Join your College's May Ball Committee to gain experience in large-scale project management and team leadership.
If you're involved in theatre, apply to direct or produce a show, or look for roles involving managing others, such as Musical Director or Stage Manager.
Take on responsibilities for a cause you're passionate about. You could get involved in one of the many student-run charities in Cambridge doing event management, fundraising, coordination, or campaigning.
Get involved in editing student journals or newspapers, building your organisational and management skills. Find out more on the Theatre, Film & Arts page or the Academic Study page.
If you're a first-year undergraduate at Newnham, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards or Trinity Hall, apply to the Laidlaw Programme for leadership and research development.

Check out the activities pages for more ideas on how to get involved and develop your skills in this area.

Skills in this category

Skill	Definition
Ability to reflect	The ability to engage in introspection, evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses, and seek feedback from others.
Accountability	The ability to take ownership of one's behaviours and responsibilities and being able to provide reasonable explanations for one's decisions and actions.
Active Listening	The ability to provide full attention to other speakers, understand their viewpoints and utilise gained information in following conversations or situations.
Adaptability	The ability to change one's attitudes or behaviours to accommodate new changes (e.g., new technologies, work patterns, new skills).
Adopting a different perspective	The ability to consider a situation, idea, or problem from a new or alternative point of view.
Agile thinking	The ability to understand, react and adapt quickly and effectively to changing circumstances.
Asking the right questions	The ability to ask insightful, relevant, and purposeful questions to obtain information, clarify a point, or explore difficulties other people may have.
Autonomy	The ability to make your own decisions and to govern your actions and decisions.
Building networks	The ability to establish and nurture connections with individuals within one's existing network, as well as engaging with people from different educational or professional domains, clubs, or shared interests.
Career management	The ability to create a long-term vision of future careers, seek opportunities for growth and skill development, reflect on one's progress, and ensure one's skills remain relevant and diverse.
Coaching others	The ability to facilitate learning or training of another person, a small group, or a sports team.
Collaboration	The ability to work together with others and coordinate individuals' different skills to achieve a shared goal.
Commercial awareness	The ability to understand the market, the business environment, and the factors that influence the success of an organisation (e.g., customers, opportunities, or competitors).
Communication	The ability to effectively share information, ideas, and emotions with others through written, verbal, and non-verbal mediums.
Compassion	The ability to understand other people's hardships and express sympathy and the desire to help them.
Coping with uncertainty	The ability to navigate and perform adeptly in situations with significant levels of unpredictability or potentially unexpected changes.
Courage and risk taking	The ability to embrace uncertainty and potential setbacks in the hope of desired results or great achievements.
Crafting an inspiring vision	The ability to create a compelling and encouraging vision about the future that inspires others to work towards making it a reality.
Decisiveness	The ability to make decisions confidently, resolutely, and quickly.
Developing relationships	The ability to build meaningful connections with others based on trust, mutual respect, and effective communication.
Drive change and innovation	The ability to introduce changes and innovations and inspire others to adapt to new ways of thinking and working.
Emotional intelligence	The ability to have awareness over and to control one's emotions and their expression in order to handle interpersonal relationships thoughtfully and empathetically.
Empathy	The ability to share and appreciate someone else's feelings and experiences by projecting oneself into that person's situation.
Empowering others	The ability to foster confidence in others by entrusting them with tasks and decision-making responsibilities while holding them accountable for both achievements and setbacks.
Fostering Inclusiveness	The ability to appreciate diverse points of view and provide access and respect to individuals of any orientation and background.
Goal monitoring, adjusting and evaluating	The ability to regularly track progress towards a goal, evaluate the effectiveness of activities, and adjust future steps and strategies to ensure alignment with desired objectives.
Grit and persistence	The ability to pursue a long-term task, mission, or journey in spite of obstacles and discouragements.
Humility	The quality of being humble and lacking feelings of superiority over others.
Independence	The ability to rely only on oneself or one's own abilities, judgment (e.g.,to complete a task)
Initiative	The ability to take a lead in a project or offer a fresh approach to something.
Inspiring Trust	The ability to speak openly about one's intentions and goals, particularly in the capacity of being a leader.
Integrity & Ethical behaviour	The ability to be honest and show a consistent adherence to strong moral and ethical principles that guide one in any situation.
Judgement and decision making	The ability to make an informed decision based on analytical and critical evaluation of multiple resources or situations.
Leadership	The ability to reinforce a project's/organisation's vision while supporting and inspiring inspire individuals with diverse character traits and preferences.
Managing up	The ability to establish and navigate a positive relationship with one's supervisor to achieve mutual success and goals.
Mentorship	The ability to pose as a role model to help and encourage another person to learn and develop skills for their personal or career development or achieve a certain goal.
Optimism	The ability to perceive situations with hope and stay confident about successful outcomes even in challenging situations.
Organisational Awareness	The ability to understand different elements of organisations (e.g., their structure, culture, values, roles, and dynamics) to help navigate relationships within them and successfully meet their goals.
Positive thinking	The ability to focus on thoughts of success, as a strategy for achievement
Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility	The ability to quickly recover from setbacks or challenging situations and easily adjust to changing circumstances or requirements.
Resolving conflicts	The ability to identify, address, and solve a conflict in a collaborative manner that promotes positive team dynamics and progress.
Role-modelling	The ability to demonstrate positive behaviours, attitudes, and values as an example for others to emulate.
Teaching	The ability to help with developing someone's subject knowledge or skills, create engaging lesson plans, effectively communicate feedback, and create a supportive learning environment.
Time management and prioritization	The ability to manage one's time, organise tasks according to their urgency, and choose the most efficient method of executing them.
Understanding biases	The ability to recognise when pre-existing patterns affect one's thinking process or judgement, often in an unconscious or unfair way.